Adiós Meermin... at least for me

[Betelgeuse]

As above, my enthusiasm on placing my first order with Meermin has completely vanished. My dad arrived today to Miami and I was going to place an order today so that the shoes will arrive before Friday, but then I read about the guys on SF that made an MTO Group Buy. The horror.

OzzyJones got this problem

Couple of Meermin idiosyncrasies which I'll live with for now. (Off centre wing point on the darks, sloppy welting couple of other things that being hypercritical about) its sad that the first thing I did was look for flaws but I guess you reap what you sow.
Edit, unfortunately the dark boots are a bit of a mess really: poor sole trimming, visible welt stitches, again! A pull at the toe which may or may not develop into a tear. Hope the rest of you have better luck.

MarioImpemba, says his boots looks great but he asked for the metal caps for the soles and.. got this

And then gyasih got this...

I was really considering to become a Meermin client after trying the sizes and do get some MTO from them, but this somehow disencourages me. So I guess I should wait and save for some Alden's. Becuase I read on SF in a post, that chogall said that Carmina's are not that good.

Carmina produces mediocre shoes using mediocre materials on mediocre designs. If anything I would rather get Alden or AE for the same price point but with much more character; or bite the bullet to get Vass at $100 more.

Would love to hear more about that, chogall, in here calf vs calf Alden is $1,000 cheaper than Carima.

 

[Chorn]

That is terrible. Just awful.
And I was thinking about getting a pair of Meermin's as well.

 

[Grand Potentate]

I'll play Devil's Advocate here - what the fuck were they expecting for MTO @ $400? I mean seriously, they look pretty good outside of the welt issue on that one medium brown pair. At that price point, that's pretty much what you're going to get.

 

[Grand Potentate]

BTW - what is going on in the front of Gyashish' brown boot? Did they miss the leather with the stitching?

 

[Chorn]

I've heard of issues with their rtw stuff as well with regards to finishing.

 

[Grand Potentate]

Only $630? Shit, the exchange rate is REALLY working in our favor these days.

 

[Betelgeuse]

I'll play Devil's Advocate here - what the fuck were they expecting for MTO @ $400? I mean seriously, they look pretty good outside of the welt issue on that one medium brown pair. At that price point, that's pretty much what you're going to get.

Yeap, but they say that they are cutting a lot of costs just by selling via online and cutting the dealers. Also, this boots took them around 12-14 weeks, if I don't remember bad, that should give them plenty of time to give them a quick check. The problem with gyasih is quite obvious, right?

Wow the QA really went down to shit after the initial rush. Neither of my two Meermins have those horrendous problems. Not inseamed tight enough and not hammering down the welt.

I just really don't see any reason to by Carmina when less than $100 more can get me Vass. Even after ridiculous bank wiring fees (that can be reduced via different wiring services), Vass only costed my US$630 and without any FedEx bill.

The only allure about Alden is its iconic American, not about its quality or value.

$630 for Vass? Where can I buy them? The only problem with that is the shipping. I have to ship them to the US and then to Mexico so the import duties don't screw me. Also the sizing is an issue but can be worked.

 

[Betelgeuse]

From Vass themselves. I wouldn't worry about tariff if shipped to US; low declared item value. No idea about Mexico.

I'm quite sure that shipping directly to Mexico the value would increase 30-40% just to pay import duties.

So directly from the $630 plus shipping?

 

[Betelgeuse]

Ask Vass directly. They are very up front.

I was charged €430 total for suede U last wide fitting with trees, metal toe tips, and shipping included.
My bank offered Fx at EURUSD 1.35 and $35 wiring fee.
Total cost to me is €430 x $1.35/€ + $35 = ~$580 + $35 = ~$615.

Nice! Plus I guess International customers don't get charged with the VAT. Let me write to them.

 

[Betelgeuse]

You will NOT receive VAT deduction unless you are physically there at Hungary to apply for it at customs.

€430 includes VAT.

Damn.

Can you facilitate me the link, please?

 

[Grand Potentate]

Is Hungary different than the other EU countries in regards to VAT?

 

[Betelgeuse]

I have their dark brown suede oxfords and can report that they look even better than on the website -- a very rich, slightly ruddy, brown color. Since I'm not a shoe guy, I cannot comment on the quality (I tend not to notice small blemishes, let alone care about them), but they at least look like they're decently made.

I was like this... then I registered on SF.

I mean, it's not bad, I have learned a lot, but I have become very picky in terms of shoes.

 

[Grand Potentate]

Pretty sure it applies to all EU members. (Assuming that you're speaking about the "VAT deduction for non-EU buyers" thing.)

Yeah, that's what I thought. I wonder how they skirt that.